Even the Lows are High When This Family Works Together

by Elizabeth Denham

Launching a Family Business

“The most rewarding part about working with my mom and sisters is that I trust them completely.”

This comes from Britni Hurst who works with her mother, Becky Edgren, owner of PuroClean Emergency Services in Dayton, Ohio. And this dynamic of unconditional love and trust is what drives Britni, her mother and sisters Lara Harshbarger and Megann Eversole to continue building the business and achieving success year after year.

Becky joined the franchise in 2008 and each of her daughters have specifi c roles. Britni handles sales and marketing, Lara handles accounting and human resources and Megann oversees all of the day-to-day operations.

“For me, there is nothing more rewarding than being able to say I have all my daughters with me,” Becky said. “They run 98 percent of everything, so I get to work on the business side and teach. I am 100 percent engaged, but I have the ability to reach beyond the day-to-day.”

Becky spent the majority of her adult career working in a tooling machining company. She had three brothers in business at that time along with Lara. She decided she wanted to own a family-run business and started down the path to fi nding the right fi t. She joined PuroClean in 2008. At that time, all three daughters had their own careers.

“Before we made the decision, we met all together about once a week to talk about the good, the bad and the ugly of owning a family business because it’s a very different dynamic,” Becky said. “I wanted to make sure they knew what they were getting into if they decided this was what they wanted. My oldest, Laura, had worked with me in the tooling business, so she was more familiar with what family business was all about. At the end, I asked them, ‘okay, who is in?’ And they all smacked their hands together and said, ‘we are in!’”

Becky gradually brought each daughter into the business as she could afford it, and within three years, they were all with her full time.

“I couldn’t have planned it better,” Becky said. “Looking back, each one had a different skill set that was perfect for a family business.”

Family Dynamics at Their Finest – Well, Mostly!

Britni has a unique perspective on the family dynamic as the youngest daughter.

“As the youngest, I have three moms and three bosses. But one difference with a family business is that you don’t always have the mentor you might in other businesses,” she explained. “Becky wasn’t always able to mentor me in sales. She could tell me about PuroClean sales, but not about sales in general.”

Britni also talked about the line in the sand you need with family.

“When at work, we are coworkers. And when we are not, we are back to family. That is a line a lot of families struggle with. There are times I am mad at my mom and then times when I am mad at my boss, Becky. And days when I am mad at both,” she laughed. “We joke that there are days we can cuss each other out one minutes and then say, ‘ok, where are we going to do lunch?’ And it’s over and done and we move on.”

Becky believes there is a positive impact a family business has on their customers.

“The family business owner approach is just different,” she said. “We are a close-knit family, and we know what it is to want to be treated like that. It’s from the heart. We know what it’s like to have our families disrupted or a business disrupted, and we approach our customers like they are family.

The Future of Their Legacy

“We have a kids’ room here at work, and we have our grandchildren and employees’ children here every day after school,” Becky said. “And as for legacy, they all know that it is theirs if they want, it, but if they have different dreams, I will support that 100 percent as well.”

Laura said there is more to legacy than passing the business down.

“It’s hard to know where the kids will go,” she observed. “I think my older two have a path and know where they are headed. But they have all seen what it takes to own a business and what hard work looks like. And that is what they are getting from our business, too.”

Turns out building a legacy is all about learning the value of hard work, the joy of family ties and the rewards of business ownership.

About Becky Edgren

With more than 30 years of experience in male-dominated industries such as manufacturing and machining, Edgren joined PuroClean in 2008 with a desire to begin her entrepreneurial journey and inspire her own three daughters. A leader who supports female empowerment through education, Becky also devotes much of her time supporting women in her fi eld. In the past 12 years, Edgren’s depth of expertise and focus on continued education has catapulted her franchise location to great success, with between $2 to $2.5 million in sales and 22 full-time employees. Edgren has earned numerous awards for her efforts in business and her community, including a spot on PuroClean’s President’s Circle each year since 2012, reserved for franchise owners who achieve top sales throughout the network.